1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to grids for cooking grills for cooking food products using heat and smoke, particularly for an outdoor cooking grill.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A typical outdoor cooking grill, often called a barbecue grill, has a receptacle or box for containing a heat source. The heat source might be a gas flame, electric burners, or actual charcoal. If gas or electric, the heat source will normally be located below a layer of rocks which are heated by the heat source. The grill has means for supporting a grid above the heat source. The food product being cooked will drip juice and grease, causing smoke to evolve to provide flavoring and seasoning. If charcoal is used, the juice will drop directly onto the charcoal. If a layer of rocks is used, the juice drips onto the hot rocks to cause smoke to evolve.
The grid has rectangular openings for the passage of heat and smoke. Some grids are made of cast metal while others are made of wire. The openings normally are fairly large so that as much as possible of the food product is exposed to smoke and cooked directly by convection heat of the heat source, not by conduction heat from the heat of the grid.
While this is suitable for certain food products, particularly steaks, the large rectangular openings cause problems with other food products. When cooking hamburger patties, the patty tends to soften and portions may extend down into the openings. This makes it difficult to turn the patties over for cooking on the other side. The patty may tear and portions of the meat may fall through the opening. Smaller food products, such as vegetables and small pieces of meat, chicken or fish, may likely slip through the openings in the grid.
There are various proposals in the patented art to remedy the drawbacks to cooking grids when used for cooking hamburger patties, vegetables and other small food products. Generally, these proposals involve the use of a separate griddle which is placed on top of a conventional grid of a cooking grill. The griddle normally has a large surface area for cooking by heat conduction, and small apertures allow the passage of smoke. Examples of these griddles are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,302, Gilberg, Jan. 5, 1971, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,402, Plumley, Mar. 27, 1973. A separate griddle requires additional efforts in cleaning and storing. Another patented proposal, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,364,913, Borglum, Jan. 23, 1968, shows a flat griddle section 47 formed with a cooking grid, however, griddle 47 suffers from deficiencies such as lacking means for smoke to pass through and juice to drop from the food products.